| Page 97 | |
[I] The friend of Cúchulainn who grew up with him and was taught the martial arts under Scáthach with him. During the Táin war he took the side of Ailill and Medb but tried to avoid open conflict with Cúchulainn. Medb goaded him into single combat. After this, the greatest combat of all, Ferdia is slain by his friend. Disheartened by his act, Cúchulainn falls exhausted while the victorious Connacht army pours across the ford he has guarded so well, rejoicing with war songs.
[I] There are at least ten personages named Fergus (sometimes given as Feargus) in Irish myth, but the most famous of them all was Fergus Mac Roth, who was king of Ulster, succeeding his brother Fachtna Fathach. He was in love with his brother’s widow, Nessa, who promised to marry him if he gave up the throne for one year to her son Conchobhar. Fergus did so and then found himself betrayed, with Conchobhar clinging on to the throne after the time had come to return it. At first, Fergus serves Conchobhar, then after Conchobhar’s betrayal of Naoise, he goes off into exile in Connacht.
When Ailill and Medb led the men of Connacht against Ulster in the Táin war, Fergus accompanies them with other dissident Ulstermen. It is Fergus’ strategy that almost wins the day, until Cúchulainn reminds him of a personal oath, which forces Fergus to leave the battlefield, ensuring the defeat of the Connacht army. Tradition has it that it was Fergus who first set down the story of the Táin.
[I] Popularly called the Fenians. A band of warriors guarding the High King of Ireland, said to have been founded in 300 b.c. by Fiachadh the High King. They consisted of twenty-five battalions. They were a military élite, and scholars suggest that it was from the Fianna that the later concept of the Arthurian Knights of the Round Table was derived. See Knights.
[I] “Wooden wisdom.” An ancient Irish board game said to have been akin to chess in which a piece, known as a king, attempts to escape to the side of the board while the opposing player attempts to prevent this. It was played extensively by the gods as well as the heroes. It was a game said to have been devised by Lugh, the god of arts and crafts. In Welsh myth the game gwyddbwyll has the same meaning and is obviously the same game.
| |